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Clock running fast?

I sure hope that I am not wearing out my welcome here. I'm an old retired guy that enjoys woodworking. I have built a couple of clocks and in doing so have begun developing an interest in clocks. I bought several on e-bay and am trying to learn by repairing them. i ordered "Clock Repairing As A Hobby" yesterday. If I get to be too much of a pain just say so.

I have a 340-020 movement that is running fast. I have moved the small adjusting regulator on the floating balance wheel as far to the the left (-) as it will go, but it is still fast. Where do I go from here?

Running fast is usually a sign of a power loss, causing the balance to have a low amplitude of rotation. I would suggest a good cleaning, and possibly replace worn bushings would be required to slow it down. A three train movement with springs would perhaps be not the best starter clock movement to learn on. I'm not familiar with the book you've ordered, so really can't say how helpful it might be. I usually recommend Philip Balcomb's two books, The Clock Repair Primer, and The Clock Repair First Reader as good reference material for those just starting.

Hey geodrake - don't worry about asking questions. That's why we're here The balance wheel escapements are pretty sensitive to wear, and usually what happens when the movement gets dirty and/or the pivot holes wear, is that the balance turns in a shorter rotation, which makes it run fast. You can probably observe the wheel as it rotates. If it's not getting at least 180 degrees in each direction (360 total) then it needs work. You don't want to clean the balance along with the other parts. Take it out of the clock and use One Dip or a similar product to clean it. Usually they're not bad enough to cause a problem anyway. The rest of the movement will need to be disassembled and cleaned and probably bushings installed. Also look closely at the pivots to be sure they're not the coated type and breaking down. If they are, you'll have to insert Butterbearings or replace the pivots.

A very good book i brought was by Steven G. Conover, called Clock repair Basics large a4 size 92 pages with plenty of large pictures, from Amason not expensive, as a newbie it has taught me a great deal.